By Melissa Wuske

The Pain of Converting from Islam

Author Nabeel Qureshi grew up as a Muslim in the U.S. with Pakistani immigrant parents. “I was very happy with my faith. I was a Muslim, and I was a proud Muslim. I loved Islam.” A friend shared the gospel with Qureshi when he was in college. “I argued with him. I debated, I challenged him. But four years later, what I realized is that the Christian message was true.

“When I became a Christian, it was the most painful thing I ever did,” Qureshi said. “I lost my family. I lost my friends in the mosque. I lost all the people who loved me the moment I became Christian. I said, ‘God, why won’t you kill me?’” Qureshi recalled. “His response was, ‘Because this wasn’t about you, it’s about me.’” As a result, Qureshi realized: “God has a plan to heal this world. It can only happen through his hands and his feet, and that is us.”

Police & Black Lives Matter Group Hold a Picnic

In the wake of high profile news about black men being killed by police, Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay and members of the local Black Lives Matter movement met to talk about the issues facing their community. The result of the meeting was the First Steps Community Cookout, an event that brought police and the community together to talk and have fun. “It takes two parties to make a healthy relationship,” said Ramsay.

The event gained even more significance because it was held the same day that a gunman killed several police officers in Baton Rouge. “My heart goes out to the families, those officers in Baton Rouge,” said A.J. Bohannan, a Black Lives Matter leader. “I think the fact that that did happen makes this event more meaningful. I definitely think this is a start for this community, and I definitely want to keep it going.”

Melissa Wuske is a freelance editor and writer. She and her husband, Shawn, live and minister in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Find her work online (melissaannewuske.com).